One of Pakistan’s most influential celebrities, actor, director and screenwriter Shamoon Abbasi, in an exclusive interview, says the industry in Pakistan was quite vast when he started out in 1997. “I had the privilege to work with some of the industry gurus like Ghazanfar Ali, Raheel Rao and Satish Anand in my early days and that support meant a lot to me as I was guided by the industry giants and they loved what I had to offer to them in terms of subjects and ideas. It has been almost 27 years that I’m in this industry and honestly I expected it to grow a 100 times more than what it is today, but I’m glad that in some areas, we have reached global standards be it equipment wise or tools of the industry requirement but still lack in professional development and commitments,” he says. “I believe that fame is an addiction, hence people tend to forget their loved ones and keep on pushing hard on their career which sometimes leaves them alone. I always managed both sides; my family time and my work never collided a lot. I know how to manage my personal life with my career. Being a workaholic doesn’t mean that we ignore our loved ones. It’s always better to slow your pace down, if you feel that your family is being affected by your work,” he maintains. When asked whether he stays away from the limelight due to personal choice, he answered in the affirmative. Shamoon Abbasi has just signed an animated movie called ‘Rayan – The Super Hero’ and is super excited about it. “It is a film based on kids, the producers and director are planning to make a multiverse franchise of it, which excites me more as four of my movies are about to be released this year in 2023 so hoping they all do well and my fans enjoy my presence in those movies,” he adds. ‘Huay Tum Ajnabi,’ ‘Daadal,’ ‘Dhai Chaal’ and ‘Delhi Gate’ are the ones to look out for. Shedding lights on social media and trolling, Shamoon says he is active on social media because he generally doesn’t appear at social networking events physically, so “I like to stay in the shadows. I don’t get offended on little things said by unknown people. We need to understand their negative thoughts are just how they feel their entire lives. Hence, I don’t give such trolls much attention”. Shamoon was born and raised in Rome, Italy and speaks fluent Italian. Shamoon’s film ‘Durj’ was a 2019 Pakistani Urdu-language mystery thriller film, written, directed by Shamoon himself and produced by Dodi Khan. “It was a signature film. I learned a lot from ‘Durj’ and later felt that millions of people loved it. On the digital platforms, it was banned and what not, but ‘Durj’ is acclaimed as a master piece by the audience, so I’m super proud of it. In ‘Dhai Chaal,’ I play Kulbushan Yadav, the RAW agent that was sent to Pakistan to create havoc and disrupt the CPEC development in Pakistan. The film is directed by Taimoor Sherazi, produced by Dr Irfan Ashraf and will release after Eid sometime,” he says. Talking about his impact on the film and drama industry and being one of the most influential celebrities of the country, Abbasi says he is honoured to know that he can influence anyone in this world and will make sure he will continue to do what inspires his fans. “My father Zubair Abbasi is my influence and inspiration,” Shamoon says.